First Lady Kicks off unity tournament finals

She
was welcomed with fanfare – hundreds gathered at Sambuya village entrance to
welcome the First Lady: the occasion was the football finals between Tanji and
Tujereng villages, after six other teams from various coastal villages were
eliminated.

Sanyang
Scout band, women cultural groups from the various villages, youths and school
children sang, cheered in joy as the First lady’s five vehicle convoy swept to
the village just outside Gunjur, over 35 kilometers journey by road from Banjul.
It was a Thursday afternoon and the usual heat of the sun; dust and other
engagements were put aside for this event.

Dressed
in a red and cream coloured wooden wax sewn in a ‘daagit’ style with a long
skirt, the First Lady walked from her seat under a canvass to the ball. She
held the two sides of the long skirt at around the knees; put her left leg
forward and swung her right foot to kick the ball towards the centre of the
field.

Deafening
screams, and a standing ovation from the spectators – hundreds of them from all
the surrounding villages, lined around the football field – greeted this
moment.

The
tournament was named ‘Fatou Bah Barrow Football Tournament’ – in honour of her
support to the investors’ quest to build a 210-capacity eco-tourism camp and
skills village in the area.

D110,
000-prize money was distributed among the competing teams.

The
tournament brought together eight village teams in Kombo South – Gunjur,
Sanyang, Kunkujang, Sambuya, Banyaka, Batukunku, Tanji and Tujereng. It was
funded by Tuteema Sunrise Gambia Ltd., a Finnish investment group venturing
into eco-tourism and livelihood sustenance projects in the village.

Tanji
who emerged winners after a goal-less full time, made sure they netted three
goals-to-one against Tanji in the post-match penalty shootout. D45, 000 and
D40, 000 cash prizes were respectively given to the winning team and second
place, along with gold and silver trophies respectively. Consolation cash
prizes were also given to each of the participating teams. “The aim is to
foster unity among the youths, encouraging them to look inwards and stay in the
villages to engage in livelihood ventures,” an organizing committee member,
Lazar Kujabi said.